U.S. Magistrate Andrew Peck is featured in today's Wall Street Journal, in an article about the pending five-day celebration of Sherlock Holmes' "suspected" birthday on Jan. 6 (about 500 folks are expected to participate). Peck is a member of the invitation-only "Baker Street Irregulars, who gather in New York to discuss all things Conan Doyle. Check out Jo Piazza's story here (subscription required) or on page A-17 of the paper version.
Photo: Natalie Keyssar for The Wall Street Journal.
January 3, 2012 in People | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Welcome to 2012 Shakin' off the holidays, back at work! New York City has been giving Al Gore ulcers with our crazy weather. We wore shorts last weekend, today we've all pulled out our "puffer" coats, hats, and gloves. It's ch-ch-chilly!
As we gear up, just a quick reminder that if you are a vendor planning to launch a new product or upgrade at LegalTech New York, be sure to reach out to Evan Koblentz (ekoblentz@alm.com) today — as we are in the final stages of preparing our "sneak preview" for Law Technology News magazine (it will be distributed at LTNY).
And watch this space, I'll soon be announcing the winners of the 2011 LTN Innovation Awards!
Hope you had a refreshing vacation. Happy New Year!
Image: Clipart.com
January 3, 2012 in LTNY 2012 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Happy Holidays As the holidays approach, I wish you joys small and large, noise soft and loud. lights bright and quiet; enough silence; an abundance of kindness and as little anger as possible; music always; and at least one heaping spoonful of peppermint ice cream.
P.S. Here is my favorite holiday card of 2011. I'm just evil. :)
Image: Clipart.com
December 23, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Aloha, Steve Jobs I have just finished Walter Isaacson's compelling biography of Apple's Steve Jobs, one of the most fascinating portraits of a leader I have ever encountered.
Dylan Baker reads the unabridged audio version, which is very, very long, but contains not one minute of excess. From start to 656-page finish, Isaacson creates a portrait of a brilliant, difficult, defiant, determined, passionate, mean-spirited, visionary, headstrong, OCD, insightful, etc., etc., etc., man.
I am still processing my reaction to the content, but I don't remember any biography that so inspired me. No doubt, part of the fascination is because of my San Francisco Bay Area roots — I am just a few years older than Jobs and grew up about 15 minutes north of Palo Alto, and was at U.C. Santa Cruz for my undergrad years, so I resonated to many of his influences.
The book helped me better understand technology issues, including the two opposite philosophies behind Apple and Microsoft, and the turning point (in my opinion, the iPhone more than the iPod) where everything changed. Steve Jobs insisted on a "closed" system that was intuitive and user-friendly, where every device easily integrates with any other Apple device — but users can't even change a battery. Bill Gates' model was creating software that could be licensed by just about anyone and used however they pleased. The book chronicles the development of both companies, and how they competed, but also how they intersected and even cooperated from time to time.
The dominant theme of the book is how Steve absolutely insisted on the marriage of art and techology — to the point of almost absurdity. (He probably defines the term "micro-manage.") Jobs worshiped simplicity and minimalism, and intuitive operation of devices, and he pushed his teams to near breakdowns in his demands for absolute perfection in products. He was not afraid, even at the last stages of production, to insist on revisions. It had to be right. Period. Not every product was a success, indeed, some were dramatic flameouts. But he kept pushing.
One of my favorite things about Apple is the packaging, and the visual delight of opening the box — another target of Jobs' compulsive, hands-on management. I also like the never-on-sale pricing that removes any concerns that you could have gotten a better deal at another store. (Ditto). And speaking of stores, they were another focus of Jobs' acute attention, all the way down to choosing the floor tiles and the quality of the glass used for the stairs.
And it all comes down to that wedding of art and technology.
The biography also helped me better understand my own career path and how I run Law Technology News magazine. I don't have the talent, vision, or resources of Steve Jobs — but the mix of art and technology has been, and will continue to be, a driving force in Law Technology News magazine. With art director Shane DeLeers (also an Apple devotée) we always push to integrate design and art with the words of the magazine.
The book also reinforced my passion (or as many would say, obsession) for clear, clean, accessible, jargon-free, gender-neutral language — with positive, active words rather than passive. I believe fiercely in the anthropology of language — that the words and images we choose create the perceptions and realities of the reader. My goal with LTN always has been to empower our readers (lawyers, judges, CIOs, IT, CFOs, GCs, paralegals, vendors, et. al) and help us understand that technology really can help us build better businesses, better communities, and better relationships.
Ultimately, there are so many lessons in this book. Among them: That you don't have to be perfect to effect change. That failure is inevitable on the path to success. That conflicting technologies can co-exist. That you need to actually listen to your doctors. :( That OCD behavior has its benefits :)
So here's to passionate, fearless, imperfect leaders who inspire us to do our best work. And here's to art and technology. Thank you, Steve Jobs, we miss you already.
Videos of Isaacson discussing the book (scroll down) here.
Image: Simon & Schuster
December 20, 2011 in Books, Commentary & Analysis | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Matthew Kluger Pleads Guilty on Insider Trading Hands down, one of the most fascinating stories we have ever covered in Law Technology News was our June 2011 cover story, "Catch Me If You Can," about how lawyers and their organizations responded to the astounding insider trading prosecution against Matthew Kluger. (LexisNexis subscribers can access it here.)
In the article, Tam Harbert detailed how Kluger, who worked at four of the world's most prestigious law firms, managed to acquire approximately $37 million (with two accomplices) by simply reading file labels to figure out information about pending mergers and acquisitions.
This week, Kluger pleaded guilty Wednesday to all four counts against him. Check out the report by Tom Huddleston Jr. in The Am Law Daily.
Our package looked at the lessons learned by law firms, and how they are balancing the difficult tightrope between protecting confidential data while still providing as open an environment as possible internally to faciliate collaboration and innovation. In addition to ramping up ethics training and security, one of the interesting themes that emerged was whether law firms may need to rethink the traditional "MYOB" (mind your own business) hands-off posture of dealing with employees, and become more proactive about offering support services (overt or subtle).
While no firm will be able to completely outwit brilliant sociopaths, organizations should watch for red flags that might signal potential employee meltdowns big or small. Especially in the aftermath of the economic earthquakes. A recent PriceWaterhouse Coopers poll of 1,600 adults who make $30,000+/year found that 61% of respondents are stressed about finances, and 49% have a hard time paying monthly bills --- even 36% of high earners ($100K+). As I wrote in my editor's note in June, "No doubt, there is a huge difference between thefts fueled by arrogance and those fed by desperation, but both can lead to tragedy. Perhaps it's time ... to reach out."
Check out my conversation with with Harbert here.
December 15, 2011 in Commentary & Analysis, Hiring & Retention, Law Firm Management, Security, Surveys | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
SharePoint Checklists Mark Gerow, LTN's go-to guy on all things SharePoint, focuses his attention on checklists -- a tool that can be used effectively to help apply "repeatable processes" to any matter. As William Hamilton recently preached at the Colorado Association of Litigation Support Professionals, pilots do it, doctors do it, so should legal.
Gerow explains, with his usual clear, unpretentious writing, how Microsoft SharePoint supports checklists using an out-of-the-box list, a web part, or JavaScript. "One advantage of SharePoint-based checklists is not only that they can be saved as templates and easily reused, but that once copied for a given matter, the checklist steps can be modified to meet the distinct needs of that matter.
Check out Gerow's article here.
Image: Mark Gerow
December 14, 2011 in Technology | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Name Game Legal technology vendors often have, shall we say, "unusual" company names, e.g., Daegis, Fios, Aderant, Recommind. LTN's news editor Brendan McKenna became intrigued on the origins of these monikers, which generated this article in the December edition of Law Technology News magazine (short version in print, long version on the website).
In today's commentary, McKenna explores ever more archeology, again finding the history of corporate names from A (ABBYY) to Z (ZL Technologies).
Image: Clipart.com
December 9, 2011 in Commentary & Analysis, From the current issue of LTN | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Mobile Lawyering: Not Yet in Sync Our colleagues at ALM Legal Intelligence have just released a new survey report, "Productivity in the Legal Profession: The Impact of Mobile Technology," based on an online survey of 266 U.S. lawyers, 87% with 11+ years experience, 84% in law firms, 16% in law departments. Of firm respondents, 36% were managing partners.
The results show a spike in use of mobile technology by lawyers, but suggest that law firms, clients, and judges haven't yet figured out how to support or exploit these new technologies. (See also, "Resistance is Futile" our cover story on LTN's Feb. 2011 issue.)
Key findings include:
• Almost 90% of respondents say they use a smartphone for work-related tasks, 40 percent use tablets (read: iPads).
• Calling IT: Lawyers need more tech support to improve productivity. "Law firms and law departments are not helping attorneys make more sophisticated use of their mobile devices. Much technical support is ad hoc or nonexistent," states the report. Almost 40% of smartphone users and 54% of tablet users are flying solo, "without any official support from their law firm or law department," the report observes.
Read more here.
Image: Clipart.com
December 9, 2011 in Mobile Tools , Surveys, Technology | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Room to Read: 10,000,000 Books & Growing A few years back, I annoyed just about everybody in our newsroom by winning our March Madness annual NCAA pool with my pick of the Florida Gators to take it all. Unlike beisbol, where I can bore anyone to death with my OCD knowledge of the game, I know absolutely nothing about basketball except that I'm pretty sure the Knicks have sucked for several years. My picks were pretty much based on the schools that my brother or I had attended (but the University of California Santa Cruz and its banana slugs were not an option, so my choices were heavily skewed by Minnesota and my brother's Nevada and UCLA adventures).
To say I gloated was an understatement. LTN board member Andy Adkins, then at the University of Florida's Legal Technology Institute, sent me a blue and orange Gator's victory hat, which is proudly displayed among my ridiculously large collection of Yankees post-season and opening day caps.
The bounty was not insignificant -- around $500 -- but as much as I would have liked to use it to buy more Bronx treasures, I figured there was a much better way to spread my good Karma -- and use the entry fees contributed by my peers that constituted the victory purse. Our CEO/president Bill Pollak, who is now chair of Pro Bono Net's Board of Directors, had turned me onto John Wood's 2007 amazing book, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, which chronicled the efforts of the ex-Microsoft senior marketer who left Redmond to bring schools and books to youngsters in remote areas, including Nepal and Vietnam. The program especially focuses on educating girls, recognizing that if you educate a girl, you educate a family. Our March Madness money went to Wood's San Francisco-based charity, Room to Read.
Room to Read has just announced that it has reached an amazing milestone: They have distributed 20 million books, with the presentation of the latest in Tiang Giang Province, Vietnam. The program has published 154 children's books in 18 languages, has established 1,900+ libraries, and supported more than 12,000 girls seeking secondary education.
So if you are looking for some worthy recipients for last-minute 2011 charity donations, bring out the checkbook. Timing is everything: two supporters have promised to match all gifts made by Dec. 31 (up to $700,000) which makes your donation even more sweet.
For donation info, click here.
Image: Room to Read
December 9, 2011 in Good Works | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Pogue's Law David Pogue, The New York Times' popular technology columnist, was the keynote speaker at this fall's Courtroom Technology Conference in California, discussing disruptive personal technology. But did you know he has legal roots? Check it out here.
Image: courtesy of David Pogue
December 8, 2011 in People | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Kroll Analyzes 2011 EDD Pains & ProgressKroll Ontrack has just released its annual analysis of e-discovery cases and trends.
Michele Lange, the company's director of discovery, explains that the company evalulated 92 cases evaluated, 67% involved preservation and spoliation, 42% addressed sanctions, and 15% involved production disputes, reports Evan Koblentz on LTN's website.
Among the conclusions of the fourth annual report were that there is increasing consensus that metadat should be included "traditional" forms of electronically stored information, notes Koblentz. Ditto for user activity on social networks.
The report also discusses new proposed model orders and cost controls, among other topics.
December 8, 2011 in EDD: E-Discovery | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Vendors: Early Bird Alert!As the holidays approach, our ALM team is already preparing for LegalTech New York (Jan. 30-Feb. 1, Hilton New York). The countdown is clock ticking away, the LegalTech mobile app is available on Apple's App Store, and exhibitors are putting the finishing touches on the new products and services they will unveil at the show.
But as we all know, the showfloor competition is fierce for your attention, so Law Technology News wants to help you navigate the three floors of exhibits. So we'll will offer sneak previews of the most interesting, innovative, and important product launches and upgrades, on our website and our blogs (here on EDD Update, on LTN Products, and The Common Scold). And we'll have a preview article in the February edition of our print magazine, which will be available at the show to serve as your compass!
So vendors, don't dally! If you will introduce a new service, product, or upgrade at the show be sure to contact our reporter, Evan Koblentz, no later than Tuesday, Jan. 3 to make the print deadline. Send press releases to lawtech@alm.com, or contact Evan at 212-457-9601 — and be sure to include your booth number.
P.S. While most of you want to get the word out early about your launches and upgrades, we know from past experience that some of you will be tweaking products right down to the wire and may want to defer even the hint of an unveiling until Day One of the show. If you fall into that category, we'll be happy to negotiate an embargo. That way you won't miss the opportunity to get into the print edition. But remember, our space is very limited, and not every product will be mentioned — so early birds may well get the proverbial worms.
Image: Clipart.com
December 8, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Preservation WarsAfter several years of escalating sanctions from key judges (including the East Coast posse of Shira Scheindlin, Andrew Peck, James Francis, Paul Grimm, and John Facciola, and Texan Lee Rosenthal), lawyers are starting to push back. Especially defense lawyers with Fortune 500 clients.
One of the loudest is Robert Owen, (right) a partner at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, who argues that electronic data discovery preservation rules (and judicial interpretation of those rules) have become too vague and too burdensome. He has proposed five new rules to remedy the perceived problems.
Continue reading here.
Join the debate on EDD Update, starting with "Regress to Neutral," a rebuttal by Henry Kelston, senior counsel and a member of the firm's E-Discovery Committee.
Don't miss the December edition of the Law Technology Now podcast — Robert Owen joins me to discuss preservation rules and reforms on the
Image: Monica Bay
December 7, 2011 in EDD: E-Discovery | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Is Email Dead? Patrick Oot forwards a fascinating post from the Federal Computer Week blog that suggests that email may soon be as dead as Pan Am (airline, and rumor has it, the TV show).
"Thierry Breton, who is the chief executive of Atos and former minister of finance in France, argued in a recent speech in the United Kingdom that 90 percent of staff time spent on emails is wasted. He wants his workers to speak to each other by phone or in person, or to use instant messaging and Facebook-type interfaces for online communication instead."
"It is not normal that some of our fellow employees spend hours in the evening dealing with their emails," Breton said, according to a Nov. 28 report in the Telegraph. "The deluge of information will be one of the most important problems a company will have to face. It is time to think differently."
(Somehow I'm not sure if Steve Jobs would agree with that.)
I don't know about you, but I'm not so sure I want more in-person dialogues. I agree that email can be more entrapping than the La Brea Tar Pits (see my colleague Michael Roach's recent commentary) but the last thing I want is more meetings.
What do you think?
Image: Clipart.com
December 5, 2011 in Commentary & Analysis | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Aloha & Mahalo Just back from a small jolt of a vacation -- to the Hilton Waikoloa Village -- where the air, sea, and sky help rejuvenate the brain and body.
As a former California girl, I still default to Hawaii when I need a restart, and tend to graviate to either Princeville or Kona. On this trip, my mom and sister joined me, and this property is ideal for two generation trips. It's stunningly beautiful; big enough to accommodate ADD personalities (which run in my family); yet intimate. I highly recommend it.
Another secret: as an East Coast-based workaholic (who isn't these days?) it is the perfect venue to accomplish both play and work: with the five-hour time difference, I fall asleep at 9 p.m., wake up at 2 a.m., and thus have at least five hours of blissful solitude each day to crank out time-sensitive editing and memos. (I've learned never to share a room with my mom or sister.) And who's going to complain about being able to work with tropical breezes that bring the sweet smell of Na'u (gardenia, for us mainlanders) through my open balcony doors.
A common topic among most of my friends is the challenge of how to "have a life" when you have a time-consuming job that you actually love. Last summer, SNR Denton's global CIO Andrew Jurcyzk and I played hookey and went to a Yankees/Cubs game at Wrigley, and were talking about how we balance work and family. Basically, we concluded that while we seem to work 24/7, the trick is to take advantage of the ebb and flow of our schedules, in order to grab a vacation day here and there for a quick refresh. Sometimes, an away game, or just working from home for a few days can be a big boost for both productivity and stress reduction.
But there's no substitute for getting on a plane and changing your scenery for a real vacation. You never know where ideas will come from. On a past trip, enroute to Kauai, I watched "An Inconvenient Truth," which was the genesis for LTN's "Green Law" features.
This year's trip to Hawaii was also a milestone trip — I achieved "million mile" status on United's Mileage Plus — which means that I now never have to worry about getting enough EQMs again (that's elite qualifying miles for those of you not obsessed). Assuming that UAL doesn't evaporate like Pan Am, Eastern, et. al — that means I am "Premier Exec/Gold" for life, which will make getting upgrades much easier. Talk about a stress reducer!
On this trip, one of the conclusions I reached as I flew toward the 50th state was that I have neglected this blog for the last few months as we've been consumed with the redesign and relaunch of both LTN print magazine and our EDD Update blog. Me bad! I promise to get back on track and practice what I preach — to keep my spirit and this blog refreshed!
Images: Hilton Waikoloa
December 5, 2011 in Careers, Commentary & Analysis, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Thanks GivingFor so many in our legal technology community, this has been a challenging year, full of bumps and bruises. It's easy to get discouraged, and sometimes difficult to focus on the positive option in my favorite Chinese proverb: "Crisis is danger — and opportunity."
May this day bring you peace, inspiration, and hope. For those who will spend today with family, speak softly; for those who cannot, be kind to yourself today. Real life does not always play out like a Hallmark card, but there is so very, very much good in this world.
Among my many blessings is the opportunity to work with you -- so my "thanks giving" today includes a huge shout-out to our wonderful Law Technology News community. I appreciate your passion, your suggestions, your contributions, your praise, and yes, even your complaints. :)
Please keep it up, so that our team can provide you with the information and tools you need and want to help keep us pursuing those opportunities. It is a true joy to serve you.
Continually,
Mon
Image: Clipart.com
November 24, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Today's the day, but tomorrow's OK too Just a reminder that today is the deadline for entries to the 2011 LTN Innovation Awards — ping me if you need a short extension
Please note, there is NO FEE to enter, and the form is painless — and you can nominate someone outside your own company/firm.
411: here.
remember: you cannot win if you do not enter.
let’s celebrate our best work and folks!
November 1, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tuesday, September 11
Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. I’ve been struggling with my own reaction to the milestone — which ranges from wanting to just shut my eyes and not have to ever think about it again; to my frustration that I am not nearly articulate enough to effectively wordsmith the poetry the situation requires.
I still harbor survivor guilt. How could I have had the “personal best” day of my career — with colleague David Horrigan of The National Law Journal, at Ground Zero, finding members of our legal community and chronicling their escapes and losses — and at the end of that day walked home without so much as a scratch? I think about that often, and can take comfort in just one word from that sentence: community.
Unfortunately, before that Tuesday, I already had too much experience covering California disasters, including the Loma Prieta earthquake, the Oakland firestorm, and the brutal shooting by a deranged former client at Pettit & Martin — all events that turned acquaintances into widows and rendered friends homeless.
As Horrigan and I walked downtown on September 11, 2001, I knew from the San Francisco reporting that it would be the strength of the people I would meet that would carry me through the day. And that it was important, to the living and the dead, to tell their stories.
We interviewed New York Law School students (from left) Yadhira Gonzalez, Kelly Lerner, Nanette Aridas, and Joshua Sanders. Lerner was buying a new suit for a recruiting interview when the planes hit, her boyfriend, Joshua Sanders recounted his panicked race to find her and shakily described the horrific images of people so desperate they jumped. Aridas also tried to keep her composure as she worried about her husband's fate.
We listened to attorney Alan Chorne (right), who ran from his office at 150 Broadway, convinced he was doomed. He recited his prayer: “I’m going to die. Please make it quick.” We talked with administrative judge Merryl Snow (left) and attorney Peter Haskel (lower right). We sat with Father George Rutler (lower left), a Catholic police chaplain who works with local bar associations, who had been at the World Trade Center, performing “last rites” for victims. His friend, Father Mychal Judge, was
blessing firefighters as they entered the burning buildings, and administering last rites to the dying. He was killed when the South Tower collapsed, the first official fatality documented by the city of New York.
We told their stories in the September 12 edition of The New York Law Journal; our reports and photographs were picked up throughout ALM.
On Sept. 11, 2001 we were just about finished producing the October issue of Law Technology News. But on Sept. 12, we jettisoned the near-finished pages, and turned to our community for help. Within 48 hours, you delivered. We reconfigured the entire issue to the theme of disaster recovery, offering checklists, advice, consolation, and, hopefully, comfort.
Among the many contributors, Lindsay McCall, then with Morrison & Foerster, outlined how firms could conduct business on cell phones and wireless PDAs when servers were down. Loren Jones, then with West (now Thomson Reuters) offered a comprehensive guide to how lawyers could use scanners to rebuild document files. Consultant Edward Poll provided a detailed disaster recovery protocol plan. Michael Latz, then a senior account manager with Cingular Wireless, wrote about why his plane did not leave Newark airport. Our legal technology community also immediately offered their services to those who needed anything from lawyers to help process claims, to replacing office technology.
Our friends at The Late Show with David Letterman graciously allowed us to publish Letterman’s searing monologue that many observers said helped stabilize the emotions of New Yorkers, when he returned to air, at Mayor Rudolph Guiliani’s urging, on Sept 17.
Judith Flournoy, then at New York’s Kelley Drye & Warren, submitted a moving poem, including this passage: “In our pain and our anger there is honor and more; What we cannot forget, What we will not forget, Our memory is long. .... We will overcome, we will survive, We will win this battle, we will live life.”
Indeed. We are a community.
A decade has passed, and I am again editing the October issue of Law Technology News magazine. As I did 10 years ago, we will dedicate it to a member of our community, Arizona lawyer Donna Killoughey. Her husband Gary Bird called her that Tuesday morning, to say he just had one last quick last meeting -- breakfast with this new employer Marsh & McLennan, before he'd be heading home to her.
Downloads:
September 11, 2001 Ground Zero Photographs: Bay911Photos
From the October 2001 issue:
• Bay Fiat-Lux
• Bay EditorsNote
• Flournoy Poem
• Ashby Jones report on firms
• Horrigan "Sea of Paper"
• Lindsay McCall
• Edward Poll
• David Letterman
September 9, 2011 in Commentary & Analysis | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Greetings from NashvilleThe big buzz, to no one's surprise, at the ILTA opening reception Sunday night at Nashville is all the commotion over recent surprise buys: Google grabbing Motorola; the big puzzler, HP dumping computers (and its well-reviewed TouchPad) and buying Autonomy.
In a smaller, but important move to the financial software crowd, Aderant has snared CompuLaw and Client Profiles, which will be officially announced today at noon. (Keep an eye on www.lawtechnews.com for details.)
Off to the morning breakfast; but before I dive into the joys of hiking the acres here at the Gaylord Opryland, a quick shout out to the Minnesota folks at Thomson Reuters, Kroll, Merrill, Avanstar, Socha/Gelbmann, Dorsey & Whitney -- for three days of terrific briefings -- and the best-ever group game at Target Field Thursday night! So good to spend time with all of you. Good luck to Linda Will as she heads to Texas; always great to see David Curle, George May, the Pritchards, Teri "Jersey Girl" McCarron and Jon Bream -- and the whole gang! Not quite the same without Curt Meltzer, who has moved to New York City to join Orrick.
Perfect weather, wonderful conversations, and sorry (not) the Yankees won, but the Twins took revenge Saturday! :)
More news later today on www.lawtechnews.com and on Twitter: @lawtechnews #ILTA201
August 22, 2011 in #ILTA2011, Conventions, Meetings, Live Programs, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Apple Settles Class Action re: Power Adapters The Recorder's Amy Miller reports that Apple has settled a class action re: allegedly defective power adapters for Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro computers. "The agreement provides cash refunds of $35 to $79 to class members whose adapters show signs of 'fraying, melting, straining, sparking, weakening, discoloration, bubbling, overheating and/or separation of the adaptor's strain reliefs.' It also provides for in-warranty and out-of-warranty replacements," she says. The proposed settlement agreement includes $3 million in attorneys fees, she notes. Full story here (subscription required).
Apple addicts need not fear that this will tarnish its cash flow. Jeffrey Brandt alert us to The New York Times' report that the Cupertino firm — briefly (for a few hours) — yesterday topped Exxon Mobil as the stock market's most valuable company.
Image (obviously not of Apple's power adapter :) Clipart.com
August 10, 2011 in Litigation | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Awards & Accolades Good news! Our Law Technology News team has been honored in three competitions! We just heard that we won two silver awards in the American Society of Business Publication Editors' Northeast Regional 2011 contest — for our EDD Showcase (special section) and Craig Ball’s “Ball in Your Court” (contributed column — his seventh ASBPE!). Art director Shane DeLeer’s wonderful “Help, Please!” cover took silver in the national "Tabloid Cover" category.
LTN also received our first award for digital reporting — a bronze Tabbie from the Trade Association Business Publications International competition, in the "Online Feature" category for my report from New Orlean’s “Green Matters” conference about the intersection of legal, government, and corporate forces in the efforts to combate global warming.
And we were delighted that Fastcase has named Web Watch columnist Bob Ambrogi and moi to its inaugural “Fastcase 50” roster. The list, says Fastcase (a national legal research service), “recognizes today’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders in the law.” The Washington, D.C.-based company invited the legal community to submit nominations and then chose their first winners. Our former colleague Ashby Jones (now at the Wall Street Journal), and LTN board members/regular contributors Catherine Sanders Reach, Ernie Svenson, David Whelan, and John Waters also made the list!)
Humble thanks to the organizations for the very appreciated recognition of our team's work!
July 27, 2011 in Awards & Accolades | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Thomson Reuters Divests Hildebrandt Baker Robbins More details later today, but Thomson Reuters is expected to announce later today that it is spinning off Hildebrandt Baker Robbins -- which will become Hildebrandt Baker Robbins LLC. The new entity is expected to focus on its sourcing practice, infrastructure work, and corporate legal -- keeping about 60 people. Engage will join Elite, and the Hildebrandt Institute and Peer Monitor with remain in the TR fold, within the Business of Law Group. Brad Hildebrandt is expected to also stay with TR.
About 20-30 HBR staff will lose their jobs.
More later.
Update 2:32 p.m.: Here is the official statement from Thomson Reuters:
"Thomson Reuters has announced plans to spin off its Hildebrandt Baker Robbins consulting firm as an independent business. The new firm will be called HBR Consulting, and will be headed by a team of current practice group leaders including Chris Petrini-Poli, one of the firm’s senior executives. HBR Consulting will focus on law firm operations and technology consulting. Its staff includes many former Hildebrandt Baker Robbins consultants who helped position the firm as an industry leader and are renowned for their experience and legal market expertise.
Thomson Reuters also announced that it has formed a legal market research and business analytics unit comprised of certain assets of the former Hildebrandt Baker Robbins. It will include: Peer Monitor, which analyzes and reports on a number of key law firm financial and operational performance factors, and Hildebrandt Institute, which provides law firm leaders with business-critical information, roundtables, and education programming to help them navigate market challenges and compete more effectively. Engage, a software-based tool that helps law firms budget, estimate and manage alternative fee-based legal work, will be aligned with Elite. Brad Hildebrandt, Hildebrandt Baker Robbins founder and a prominent authority on law firm strategy and operations, will continue with Thomson Reuters, supporting senior Thomson Reuters executives and law firm managing partners in an advisory role."
Update 6/20: Here is the link to the full story on Law Technology News website.
Image: HBR Consulting
June 29, 2011 in Breaking News | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
LTN is Finalist for 3 ASBPEs, 1 TabbieWe just got word that "Ball in Your Court," by Craig Ball, is a finalist in the 2011 American Society of Business Publications Editors. (We won't know until the ceremonies later this summer whether he took gold, silver, or bronze in the Northeast region, "Regular Column, Contributed" category.) Here are links to the two columns we submitted in the category: "Ubiquitous Databases," (December 2010) and "Is it Malpractice," (November 2010).
This will mark Craig's seventh ASBPE, and he also has won three similar awards from the Trade Association Business Publications International competition. Congrats!
Our October "E-Discovery Showcase" also is a finalist for best "Special Section" (Northeast region). The showcase was lead off by Anne Kershaw & Joseph Howie's "Crash or Soar," addressing whether the legal community would accept "predictive coding" (a hot topic that will be explored in our August 2011 issue as well). It also included Ball's über-delicious take on the aburd machinations that Judge Paul Grimm had to address in Victory Stanley II ("Blow Out"); as well as Kenneth Jones' "Choose Wisely," on selecting EDD vendors, and Ball's BIYC column, "Executing E-mail."
We are also thrilled that Shane DeLeers' July 2010 cover is a national finalist in the "Tabloid Cover" category. (He also won a design award from GD USA for our December, 2010 cover!)
Update: We also have received news that LTN's "Perfect Is the Enemy of Green Initiatives," has been nominated in the Online Feature category of the Tabbies (Trade Association Business Publications International) competition. Like the ASBPEs, the actual level of the award will be announced later this summer. An even longer version, with photos, can be found on The Common Scold.
Image: LTN
June 21, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
LegalTech West Coast: Back to the Bonaventure!There's an upbeat mood at LegalTech West Coast, both on the show floor and in the conference halls. The medium may be the message all right, but being in a comfortable venue seems to enhance our ability to receive and process all that information!
Everybody seems really happy to be back in the cozy confines of the Westin Bonaventure hotel, rather than the cavernous halls of the L.A .Convention Center — where we always seemed to share the building with the happy occasion of the swearing in of hundreds of ecstatic new citizens. LTWC 2011 changed its dates somewhat abruptly, so some of the usual EDD suspects had scheduling conflicts (most significantly with the Guidance Software über user group meetings in Orlando) but the exhibit hall was jumping and the keynotes and plenary sessions were crowded.
The kick off keynote address was presented by Meetup.com's top lawyer, David Pashman (left, with ALM's senior vice president Kevin Vermeulen who introduced him). See LTN's associate editor Michael Roach's report here.
I was honored to moderate the plenary session, "The Corporate Perspective: Why the Legal Industry Needs to Embrace Technology," featuring Tim Hart (below left), of McKesson, and Brian Renken (below right) of Dell. Both offered sage insight from Hart's large "enterprise" perspective to Renken's small-and-midsized business services point-of-view. We focused primarily on how organizations struggle to provide users with the most beneficial technology, while keeping work environments secure to minimize risks and keep the organization agile enough to respond to e-discovery and compliance demands.
During the discussion I gave the audience a "sneak preview" of our upcoming June issue cover story, "Catch Me If You Can," about how CIOs and other law firm leaders are rethinking security protocols in the wake of the recent insider trading charges filed against attorney Matthew Kluger, who allegedly made $32 million in profits by trading on information he acquired while working at Wilson Sonsini; Skadden; and Cravath. Pashman, in attendance at the plenary panel, told the group he had been aboard Wilson Sonsini when Kluger was there, generating a gasp from the audience. Of course, he immediately assured everyone that he did not participate in any of the mischief.
If you are in the Los Angeles area, it's not too late to head over the LTWC Day 2! This morning's 9 am keynote speaker is Manny Medrano, and you can get an hour's worth of CLE credit for his presentation," Trial by Sound Byte: Law in the New Millennium." And EDD Update regulars Joshua Engel, Tom O'Connor, John Jablonski, Bobby Malholtra, and George Rudoy will be presenting today. Get your complimentary pass to the show. We'd love to see you!
Photos: Monica Bay/LTN Click images to enlarge
May 18, 2011 in Conventions, Meetings, Live Programs, LegalTech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
IP Counsel: Social Media Perils & Promises If one message came out loud and clear at ALM's fourth "Social Media: Risks & Rewards" conference, it's that for corporations trying to tame social media, time is measured in dog years. Social media has been changing so fast, and its ramifications are so profound, that corporate counsel are scrambling to try to figure out how to leash the risks and sprint with the opportunities. Tactics that were standard operating procedure in the past — such as sending cease and desist letters for violations of trademarks and copyrights — not only no longer work but can backfire so severely that they can signficantly damage corp orate reputations.
Four lawyers from high-profile companies discussed these dilemmas in a fast-paced panel on April 12, "Protection and Promotion: Your Corporate Identity in the Virtual World:" Todd Adler (middle), senior corporate counsel of Oracle; Johanna Sistek (right), trademark counsel of Google; Alexandra Sepulveda (far left), trademark and copyright counsel at General Mills; and moderator Jennifer Arkowitz, an associate at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton.
In many cases, said the lawyers, the best tactic to protect corporate brands is to do nothing, or take a very low-keyed approach -- especially when an infringement is generated by an über-fan of the company.
Read more here.
Photos: Russ Curtis
April 26, 2011 in Conventions, Meetings, Live Programs, Corporate Counsel, Social Networking | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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